Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona Ernesto “Neto” Portillo Jr. is a proud Tucsonan. He is a columnist for The Arizona Daily Star and also works for La Estrella.

While Neto was a student at the University of Arizona, he traveled to Mexico and Central America. Neto graduated with a major in Latin American Studies, but developed a passion for journalism. He “fell in love with it” when he took a basic journalism class at the U of A. He only took three journalism courses, but he was fascinated. He was told he would be a good journalist because he is bilingual and a great writer.

 In 1982, he attended a journalism program for minorities at University of California, Berkeley. When Neto finished the program, he began to work as a reporter in Massachusetts. He worked there for three years and then moved to San Diego, where he lived for 15 years working as a reporter.

In 2000, Neto moved back home to Tucson. He started working at The Arizona Daily Star, where he was hired as a columnist.

I was definitely not expecting to hold a snake today.

To learn how to shoot video, we filmed Cecil Schwalbe and his reptiles. First, he brought out a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. He showed us how to move the snake with tongs and he allowed people to carry it. I was too scared to move the snake because I knew I would probably drop it. Although I did not move the snake, I held one that was not venomous. It was an interesting experience. I had held a snake before, but this snake was calm. The snake, named Smog, seemed to enjoy being held. Cecil also let us hold desert tortoises. They were probably my favorites because they fit in my hand.

​Later on, we created an iMovie ​of the clips that we filmed. I was frustrated at  first because I had